A while back, I wrote a post about cafes and Koreans and the subject of breakfast. This is a followup on some of the cafes…
There’s nothing half-hearted about Korea.
When Koreans stage things like festivals, theme parks and museums… they do it enthusiastically and with full explosion!
You can add cute cafes to that list too.
This post is for my expat homies in South Korea. I haven’t given you much love these days, but rest assured you’re still on my mind …
Some things are meant to be. Like second chances. They come around, staring you in the eye, even when you don’t know they’re there.
On my last food walkabout in Seoul, I reviewed a restaurant– Petra Palace (read my review)– that crafted falafels amongst other mediterranean dishes. My experience was not… so great– the owner was less than friendly and the falafels lacked character, flavor and spice. When I take a bite of a falafel, I feel like I’m inhaling the Middle East; my tastebuds on the other hand, still felt they were in Korea.
So the next time I hit Seoul, my quest was on again– find decent falafel sandwiches, the way I remember them! I strolled down Itaewon’s main street. Of all the middle eastern signs, there had to be a falafel somewhere — the whiff of roasting shwarmas was heavy perfume. But the handful of Middle Eastern joints I visited stocked only shwarma sandwiches… no falafels.
(Really? How can you have shwarmas but no falafels?) (more…)
Shah Rukh Khan.
He was the first person that greeted me when I walked through the door of our Indian restaurant. I let out a partial shriek…
Okay, so Shah Rukh wasn’t there in person. He was on TV, lip-syncing and dancing through music videos from his movies. For me, it didn’t matter though, he was in Korea and I was looking at him!
Everyone has their weakness. Mine is Indian food and Bollywood films…
The Pali! Pali! Bale! Bale! by scooter
(Korean translation: ‘Pali’: Fast; Indian translation: ‘ Bale’: Dance)
From cut and paste directions from K-blogger, Seoul Eats‘ review on vegetarian restaurants, Soo Ha and I were plugging for an Indian/Nepalese food joint called Everest. It’s said to be near Dongdaemun station.
Round and round we sped, while getting slammed with ice-burning air from Soo Ha’s scooter. We passed busy streets and crowded alleys–
Where the hell was that friggin’ station?!
Riding on a scooter (without a face mask) during the mean bite of winter perhaps, was not a good plan; but there’s nothing like seeing Seoul from the back of a scooter, especially with Soo Ha. Korean-Canadian and living in the city for roughly 10 (?) years, Soo Ha cuts (uh, ‘illegal’) corners, hops onto sidewalks and whizzes past traffic, like a certified crazy food delivery person in Seoul.
I love that about her!
Comfort food. An unbeatable way to eat yourself through the holidays.
I’m not a big foodie by any stretch, but if there’s one foodie film I can set on repeat-play, it’s Ratatouille. My favorite part is when the curmudgeon of food critic, Anton Ego, takes a bite of ratatouille and the taste propels him back to childhood memories of his mother’s home cooking.
Okay so maybe my sentiments of “home cooking” aren’t exactly the same. But it’s what I felt when my mom arrived in Korea with a bento plate on Christmas day and it was from Hawaii’s own Kabuki Restaurant in Waimalu Shopping Center.
Musubi (rice ball wrapped with seaweed) and potato hash.
“Broke da mouth ono! “, this ultra-simple food been a favorite of mine since childhood. Bought with the loving hands of my dad (who drives down to pick it up) and toted overseas by my mom, my Kabuki bento packs the flavor of the Hawaiian Islands and the uncomplicated and cozy taste of home. It’s been my aloha meal pack whenever I’ve left the islands to return to a surrogate home and the dish which welcomes me each time I reunite with family.
I’ve not set foot in nor eaten at Kabuki restaurant, yet I’m convinced the cook in the kitchen must look exactly like my mom.
There’s something in home cooking, which makes me willingly pull out all my stubborn anti-meat and rice eating laws. All the rice in Korea couldn’t replace the quality smack of home-ono in a Kabuki rice ball (and I began declining my school lunch rice this late semester; I don’t enjoy the taste that much)! And the potato hash? Aside from the fact there’s a teeny bit of meat mixed into it, it’s savory milky taste makes it chopstick-licking good!
So take me to veggie hell! With my mom and my Kabuki bento in front of me, Christmas in Korea was certainly something to Ho-ho-ho and feel jolly about.
Kabuki Restaurant
808-487-2424
98-042 Kamehameha Hwy. (at Waimalu Shopping Center)
Aiea, Hawaii 96701
Are there any holiday comfort foods which make you go weak? What foods would you sin for?
Petra Restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul.
Whenever any Manhattanite crosses the river into a neighboring burrough, it’s usually because what lies on the other end is important enough for them to want to cross it. For me, it was my $4 falafel sandwich heaped with pickled cabbage and yogurt-hummus goodness and it was conveniently located right outside the L-train Bedford stop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Within the past few months I’ve successfully satiated various comfort food cravings- from hummus, soy chicken nuggets and edamame; however, it’s the falafel that’s remained elusive. My deep-fried chickpea (more…)
I realize I’ve a bad habit of underestimating Daegu. These days, I’ve been discovering a small community and niche spots where I can get together with like-minded people for vegan food, art and yoga workouts.
Last night was another one of those nights of goodness at another Daegu dining spot which has me perked up to visiting more often. Nestled in one of the crazy offshoots of Daegu’s Bandwoldang dizzying maze, perched on the 4th floor of a building housing a Mr. Pizza, a restaurant (called New York) and a billiards room, sits Buy the Book Cafe.
Full Story »I was in Seoul for my birthday weekend with my friend, Chance, when the urge for Sunday morning brunch struck. Our cafe requirements? “Funky, trendy, Seoul-ish” . But then the same conundrum that always arises around food, did. What to eat?… no, WHERE.
Full Story »Goulash Soup and Bread (Hongdae, Seoul, Korea), is a cute hole-in-the-wall Hongdae cafe, which serves what else?… gulash and bread! I love discovering hidden gems- especially when it fits my diet and this was perfect! For a 5,000W set-combo, the cafe offers unlimited goulash soup, fresh baked bread, rice and (gasp) a fresh green salad! The kind owners (a husband and wife team), knowing my vegetarian needs were cool enough to remove the meat for me! Everything was yummy-delicious and at an amazing price!
Full Story »What does a vegetarian do when they find a vegan restaurant in Korea? (gasp!)
They fall to their knees and thank the Korean Christian god above- I have never been so grateful for a restaurant in my life! A block and a half away from Kyodae subway stop & the Daegu National Education University, there it stood- was my first vegan restaurant in Korea.
Full Story »
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